We built an open-source social-media simulator for research
Psychology research is currently facing a crisis: A significant amount of published studies cannot be reliably reproduced. Yet these studies will still be used in news headlines, and treated as fact. Research into social media has not been immune to this either, with the problem exacerbated by study designs that don’t match the real world. We built the Misinformation Game to aid in this problem. Our tool allows researchers to design social-media studies that look and feel like social media, while also making sure that each participant has a similar experience. This is really important for…
In plain words
The Misinformation Game is an open-source social-media simulator designed for psychology researchers. It enables researchers to create studies that replicate real social-media experiences while ensuring consistent conditions across all participants. This improves ecological validity and study reproducibility by reducing random variation and allowing study configurations to be shared alongside published research, addressing concerns about irreproducible findings in social-media psychology research.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
Psychology research is currently facing a crisis: A significant amount of published studies cannot be reliably reproduced. Yet these studies will still be used in news headlines, and treated as fact. Research into social media has not been immune to this either, with the problem exacerbated by study designs that don’t match the real world. We built the Misinformation Game to aid in this problem. Our tool allows researchers to design social-media studies that look and feel like social media, while also making sure that each participant has a similar experience. This is really important for the ecological validity of studies (i.e., is it similar to reality), and the reproducibility of studies (chance plays less of a role). The tool’s reproducibility is further helped because the configuration of studies can be downloaded and shared alongside published research, minimising the work required for replication. I have really enjoyed working on this project, and I hope you also find it interesting! I think there are huge opportunities to aid in research in non-tech fields using software, and I hope this project is a step in that direction. There are example studies for you to play through that are available through the website. I’m excited to hear your thoughts on it! All the best, ~ Paddy
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